Shame on us Pirates fans, shame on us for believing that this year would be different than the past 19. On August 3rd the Pirates were 63-47, but even then did we not all really know deep down that they would collapse? The offensive explosion of June and July would fade and the starting pitching would come back down to earth. I believed that they would even out a bit and play .500 ball the rest of the way, boy was I wrong.
Since that time, the Pirates are 11-28. When a team is that bad for that long a stretch in a playoff run changes need to be made. Clint Hurdle has managed the past 6 weeks so poorly that he needs to be held accountable. Neil Huntington brought in Chad Qualls for Casey McGee in a trade that made absolutely no sense at the time and even less sense now. Qualls has been worse than awful since joining the Pirates. Which is no surprise because he was awful for the Phillies and the Yankees this year.
When a team collapses so badly twice in back to back seasons their needs to be some accountability from ownership. This coming offseason is critical to the Pirates future. There are some pieces in place and some young pitching in the minors. A few good free agent signings and this team can compete. The big question is how bad do the Pirates owners want to win? Pirate fans will be watching.
